Blunt Talk

There are moments in time where life feels like you are engaged in a giant contradiction. Moments where someone says you are far too blunt and another disagrees and calls you smooth.

Someone else says they prefer blunt talk and my response is to suggest we spend some time alone so that we can have a very honest conversation.

There is momentary push back in which the obvious question is raised, “why can’t you be blunt with others around.”

The response is simple, “that can be done but there are others who cannot handle blunt. They need a softer touch so including them will create other issues.”

I follow up by reminding them that if a two minute conversation can replace a dozen texts or three emails I will pick up the phone.

Just for kicks I send a follow up email anyway, “I take silence as acceptance. If I say I want to do XYZ and you do not disagree I understand that to be that we are in agreement.”

Is It Time To Change Passports

Somewhere midway through the first Republican debate someone throws out a comment about whether it is time to change passports.

“I hear Europe is a nice place to live.”

Can’t say I am in complete agreement nor that I don’t understand the sentiment. Collectively I can pull out and parse some points and policies that I kind of agree with.

I can find rational and reasonable thoughts but I am skeptical whether that resides in one candidate. I also know for certain some are so demonstrably bad that my search for redeeming qualities involves acknowledging they aren’t pedophiles, rapists or murderers.

Is there any chance that if they were elected they might somehow adopt more moderate positions that are rational and not bat shit crazy or based upon Christian nationalist positions?

Sure, it is possible but it is also possible that I might win the lottery and I almost never play.

Hope is not a strategy.

All that being said I am not going to panic or invest time worrying about what might happen. I’ll continue to operate as I have and continue to support and advocate those I believe offer a brighter future.

Can’t do much more than that, can only control what we can control.

Epilogue

Got Johnny Cash singing God’s Going To Cut Them Down in my ear and just checked the blog stats. The numbers are way off and it looks like someone is scraping my content in places.

Don’t think I have been discovered and suddenly become more popular.

Somewhere between now and this time in ’24 I am going to have to do something about cars. Didn’t plan on things stacking up like that but sometimes life surprises you.

Might have mentioned this earlier, might not have, can’t remember as other more pressing issues have distracted me.

But the great brain is always whirring along and so I begin to think in more detail about needs, wants and desires.

Going to have to go visit some dealers and get behind the wheels of some vehicles so that I can get some real world experience.

Got to drive them a bit and see how it feels, get a sense of how comfortable I think I am or am not.

Lee Hazlewood is singing Your Sweet Love and it reminds me of being a kid. I can see myself in restaurants with round tables, upholstered red seats, sawdust on the floor and smoke filled air.

Been a long time since I was some place where you had a choice between smoking and non smoking. Now it is glaring, but for the longest time it wasn’t.

The house is quiet now and the only creature stirring is me. Close my eyes, stick out my hands, palms up waiting for fingers to slip in between my own.

None do.

Open my eyes and look left and right but don’t see any bags of money, winning lottery tickets, maps to buried treasure or spectral notes.

Guess I am going to have to work tomorrow.

Never know though, life is filled with surprises so we’ll see what the morning and beyond bring.